Case Study · Academic Platform
PhD Projects
phdprojects.org
PhD Projects supports doctoral scholars from research idea to publication. We rebuilt its website around that journey, replacing a dense legacy interface with a structured, responsive and motion-led experience.
01Overview
This was not a cosmetic refresh. The information architecture, visual language, homepage narrative and interaction model were rebuilt as one system, while keeping the depth that a research consultancy needs.
PhD Projects is a PhD research consultancy. Its live homepage describes end-to-end support across topic selection, proposal writing, thesis development, data analysis and journal publication for scholars, researchers and academicians.
The archived site carried years of accumulated links and content. The redesign keeps that depth but changes the order in which it is presented: outcomes first, services second, proof third, and a clear route to a conversation throughout.
The case study below documents that change using the archived capture and the live site. Where a detail cannot be verified, it is labelled rather than filled in.
Every screenshot in this case study is a direct capture of phdprojects.org, not a mockup. Counts and measurements refer to the captured pages. No traffic, ranking or conversion data is claimed.
02Context
The site serves scholars at different stages: choosing a topic, drafting a proposal, writing a thesis, preparing a manuscript or selecting a journal. The old homepage tried to speak to all of them at once.
The archived homepage carried a six-item top-level menu, but each item opened long lists of journal names, topic pages and locations. The menu behaved less like navigation and more like a sitemap printed in a dropdown.
Below the header, content blocks competed for the same attention. The visual system relied on green headings and pink calls to action, with a 14px body size and a desktop-era layout. On a phone, the same depth became a long scroll before a visitor reached the content.
The redesign had to answer a harder question than “what should the menu look like?” It had to decide what belongs on the homepage, what belongs inside a service group, and what can live in the long tail of journal and subject pages.
“Reveal depth in layers, not all at once.” Working principle for the redesign
03Previous experience
We reviewed the archived homepage at desktop and mobile widths. These observations describe the interface, not the quality of the client’s academic work.
Six top-level labels opened long lists of journals, topics and locations. The breadth was real, but it arrived before a visitor had decided what they needed.
Contact details, social links, YouTube channels, the logo, the menu and a promotional banner all competed in the first screen. The primary action was not obvious.
Text-heavy panels, journal logos and content blocks were stacked with similar visual weight. Scanning required reading, and reading required time.
Green headings and pink call-to-action buttons carried the brand, but the green measured about 3.09:1 against white, below WCAG AA for normal text.
The archived page used a carousel/marquee and a multi-column desktop layout, with no GSAP-based motion system. The redesign needed a pattern that would survive a narrow viewport.
04Challenges
Each challenge paired a content decision with an interface response. The work was judged by whether the next question became easier to answer.
The archive held years of useful pages. The redesign could not delete that value, but it could stop the menu from doing all the work.
Response: task-based top-level labels, grouped dropdowns and in-page service panes.
Twenty services across five areas needed a shape that a first-time visitor could understand before reading a single description.
Response: a vertical tab rail, one active pane and four cards per group.
Trust in this category comes from publishers, universities, societies and sample work, not from generic “quality” claims.
Response: a dedicated trust band, logo tabs, sample documents and scholar stories.
The archived green and pink were recognisable but uneven in contrast. A new system needed a primary that could carry text and an accent that stayed an accent.
Response: teal for primary actions and text, orange reserved for emphasis.
Entrance motion can make a long page feel coherent, but it cannot become a gate between the visitor and the content.
Response: one-shot entrance timelines, no pinning, no scrubbing and reduced-motion checks.
A redesign is easy to describe in superlatives. This case study uses captures, computed values and source counts instead.
Response: explicit evidence and non-claims in every section.
05UX & information architecture
The live navigation is shorter at the top level, but not shallow. Depth moved into grouped dropdowns and in-page sections, where it can be revealed in context.
| Level | Archived (12 Feb 2026) | Live (2 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Top level | Six labels, several opening very long lists | Ten navigation labels plus a dedicated WhatsApp action |
| Research | “PHD Guidance” and “PHD HELP” carried mixed topic and location lists | Research → Services (PhD Guidance, Research Proposal Writing Services, Good Research Topics) |
| Writing | No single writing group; pages were spread across the menu | Paper Writing → nine grouped links |
| Thesis | “THESIS WRITING HELP” | Thesis Writing → four grouped links |
| Publication | “Publications” | Paper Publish → Services, Key Factors, Standards, Publisher List |
| Support | “Contact Us” | Guarantees, How It Works, FAQ, Contact Us and WhatsApp |
Research & Concept Development
Academic Writing & Thesis Development
Data Analysis & Technical Services
Editing, Formatting & Quality Check
Journal Publication & Support
Discover
The hero names the outcome and gives three proof points before asking for a click.
Compare
Five service groups let a visitor choose the stage they are in, not a department.
Verify
Trust logos, sample documents, scholar stories and guarantees answer the sceptical questions.
Enquire
Repeated enquiry actions and a dedicated WhatsApp path keep the next step close.
The labels above are the client’s published navigation, not proposed copy. The number of links in each live dropdown was counted from the delivered markup.
06UI transformation
The redesign replaced the archived green and pink identity with a teal and orange system, and moved from Open Sans and Helvetica Neue to a system font stack. Both palettes are shown exactly as measured.
Body copy was set at 14px in Helvetica Neue, with a 1.43 line height and a #333333 default colour.
Body copy is set at 16px with a 24px line height, using the operating system’s interface font and a #343C47 default colour.
07Homepage
The live homepage is a sequence, not a collage. Each band has one job and hands the visitor to the next. Scroll the full-page capture to inspect the order.
08Service discovery
The archived menu exposed the long tail before the visitor understood the offer. The live page gives the catalogue a shape and lets the visitor move between groups without leaving the section.
Structural diagram · client copy omitted
Structural diagram · client copy omitted
Structural diagram · client copy omitted
Structural diagram · client copy omitted
Structural diagram · client copy omitted
09GSAP motion
GSAP 3.12.5 stages entrances; it does not hijack scrolling. The delivered script contains no pinning and no scroll-scrubbing. Replay the sequence below to see the real durations.
0.28s
Mega-menu entranceFade with a 10px rise, triggered on desktop only.
0.55s
Services headerThe section heading settles before the cards.
0.35s
Vertical railFollows the header with a short overlap.
0.38s
Service cards0.05s stagger across the active pane.
One-shot
Scroll revealsEntrance timelines run once and clear their inline styles.
37
Reduced-motion checksReferences to the preference in the delivered script.
Press replay to run the entrance sequence.
With reduced motion enabled, the demo shows the final state and does not animate. The live site also reads the preference before starting its entrance timelines; the case-study page follows the same rule.
10Responsive behaviour
The live theme uses Bootstrap 5.3.3 with breakpoints at 991.98px, 767.98px and 575.98px. The same page was captured at 1440, 820 and 390 pixels.
Desktop · 1440px viewport. The hero keeps a two-column layout with the primary action, trust bullets and enquiry paths above the fold.
11Usability, accessibility and performance
This section reports what can be counted in the delivered page. It is not an independent audit, and it does not claim a Lighthouse score or field performance data.
aria-labelledby rather than left unnamed.:focus-visible rules.Counts were taken from the delivered homepage markup and stylesheet on 2 November 2026. They describe the source, not user outcomes. The next step would be a manual assistive-technology pass and field-performance review.
12Technology
Versions below were read from the delivered page source. No backend, hosting or plugin inventory is claimed.
13Transformation summary
Both captures are 1440px wide. Drag the handle, or focus the slider and use the arrow keys, to move between the archived and live designs.
Archive · Feb 2026
Live · Nov 2026
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| First impression | Top bar, social links, channel links and a promotional banner competed above the fold. | A single outcome statement, three proof bullets and two enquiry paths. |
| Navigation | Six labels opening very long lists. | Ten labels grouped by task, with a dedicated WhatsApp action. |
| Service discovery | Breadth exposed through menu lists before the offer was understood. | Five groups, four services each, in one tabbed catalogue. |
| Visual identity | Green #1FA67A headings, pink #E21071 actions and 45px pill buttons. | Teal #0E7490 primary, orange #F97316 accent and 8px action radius. |
| Typography | Open Sans Condensed headings and 14px Helvetica Neue body. | System UI stack, 16px body and 37.6px page heading. |
| Motion | Carousel/marquee patterns; no GSAP timeline system. | One-shot GSAP entrance timelines, no pinning or scrubbing and reduced-motion checks. |
| Mobile | Desktop layout compressed into a long scroll. | Disclosure navigation, stacked hero and reflowed service panes. |
| Proof | Journal logos and content blocks with similar visual weight. | Dedicated trust band, sample documents, scholar stories and guarantees. |
14Outcome
The strongest outcome is structural: a visitor can understand the offer, choose a service area and find a route to contact without parsing a menu-sized sitemap.
The hero, trust band and service catalogue now answer three questions in order: what is this, can I trust it, and where do I start?
Five groups and twenty services fit into one section without turning the navigation into a directory. The same pattern can absorb future services.
Colour, type, components, motion and responsive behaviour now follow the same rules across the homepage rather than accumulating section by section.
Content QA note: the live homepage publishes trust counts (360+, 500+, 1000+) and testimonial counters. Those are the client’s figures and are not independently verified here. One thesis-writing counter also carries a “%” suffix while adjacent counters use “+”; it is left untouched and flagged for content review.
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